


Mummer's Dance

by Rachael Sabotini (wickedwords)



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: sga_flashfic, Early in Canon, Episode: s01e10-e11 The Storm/The Eye, F/F, Female Character of Color, Female Protagonist, Femslash, First Kiss, culture clash, fight practice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-03-16
Updated: 2005-03-16
Packaged: 2018-04-14 22:37:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4582755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedwords/pseuds/Rachael%20Sabotini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elizabeth envied Teyla's freedom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mummer's Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for [sga_flashfic's](http://www.livejournal.com/community/sga_flashfic/index.html) "Culture Clash " challenge. Thanks to chelle and elynross for the beta.

Elizabeth stood barefoot in the gym, stripped down to shorts and tank top, facing Teyla. Sweat dripped down her face and her arms trembled from exertion, but she never took her eyes off her opponent, waiting for some subtle sign that would let her know where Teyla planned to attack. 

Step-block-change, shift and circle, Elizabeth testing Teyla's strength and Teyla testing her right back, each one planning the next attack. Elizabeth struggled to calm her breathing, to make it even and fluid as she'd been taught. She was grateful that Major Sheppard had talked her into this and hoped she would never need it. She believed in negotiation, and that she could re-frame just about any position to her advantage, but if the Genii came again, she would be prepared. 

A wave of helplessness washed over her, the memory of her role as a hostage. With a grunt, she swung at Teyla, who stepped to the side, allowing Elizabeth to pass her. The motion drove the memory from her mind, and Elizabeth was able to focus. 

"Are you well, Dr. Weir?" Teyla was looking at her, head tilted slightly, her brown eyes sharp; Elizabeth pressed her own lips firmly together to prevent anything unprofessional from sliding out. Gentle and fierce, Teyla straddled a world of contradictions, both a part of the team and separate from it. Sometimes Elizabeth admired her distance, as she had discovered that she couldn't always find perspective when the situation demanded it. 

"I'm fine, Teyla. Really." 

Teyla stood poised, her weight evenly balanced on her bare feet, the muscles in her thighs taut. Elizabeth waited, her body tense, watching for the slightest movement: the sway of Teyla's skirt, a twitch in an arm muscle, a change in her line of sight. Teyla was very good at concealing her intentions; Elizabeth had the bruises to prove it. 

She just barely caught the shift in Teyla's weight and moved to block it, but Teyla twisted back and around, her hair flying about her like a red-gold cloud, and hit Elizabeth low, sweeping her legs out from under her and dumping her on her ass. "Ow." 

Teyla's eyebrow arched. "You are doing well, Dr. Weir." 

"Still not good enough, though." Elizabeth held her hand up and Teyla gripped it, but their hands were warm and sweaty, and slid against each other. Teyla tightened her grip a bit more, and pulled Elizabeth upright. 

"You are tired, doctor." Teyla shimmered with sweat, deepening the golden glint of her skin. "That is all." 

"I think there's some skill involved, too." Elizabeth smiled.She wanted to reach over and push the hair out of Teyla's eyes, run her fingers down Teyla's neck, but she ruthlessly stilled her hands and folded her arms across her chest. 

"Perhaps." Teyla ducked her head slightly, acknowledging the compliment. 

Elizabeth knew she was tired — weary, really — and distracted. She told herself it was just that she was tired of sitting around on her ass in a city the size of Texas, and it was the lack of exercise that was annoying her. For all its beauty, Atlantis confined her. She rarely went outside of the explored city, or to the mainland, let alone another planet. Her world was encased in walls and corridors now, defined by ancient technology and the needs of her team. 

She wanted to run again, out under the sun, the wind and the birds as escorts on her daily trek. She used to run five miles a day back on Earth, before she went to Antarctica, and now she had no place to run to. Before coming to Atlantis, she had thought herself an explorer, seeking out new peoples on new worlds; now she knew that she would only see those worlds from a monitor screen. 

Food. Protection. Analysis — the measure of her days. 

Working out with Teyla had helped. Sweating and pushing herself physically quieted her mind and helped her to focus; she simply felt better after a day that included some physical effort. 

"When did you last eat and sleep?" Teyla's voice was kind, and she ducked her head again slightly, smiling her small, tight smile, the one that Elizabeth couldn't translate. 

Elizabeth didn't think she'd slept a full night since they arrived in Atlantis, but she hadn't really slept well on Earth, either. Food, though...that had been a while. "I...think I had dinner yesterday." Maybe. Someone had brought her a sandwich, she remembered that, but the bread tasted wrong and the meat looked green— 

"You are sure?" Teyla stepped forward, concern lighting her eyes. 

Elizabeth looked away, any sign of affection too much for her to take right now. "No." Now that she thought about it, she remembered looking at the sandwich and setting it aside; she didn't remember actually eating it. She rubbed her arms; she was getting chilly now that she was no longer moving, and her body ached. 

She ached from the work out. She ached from the separation from the life she had known. She ached from keeping her feelings under tight control. 

She ached to run her fingers through Teyla's hair, to kiss her and hold her, to touch her and make her tremble with desire. 

"Teyla—" The words escaped her lips before she could silence them, filled with all of the aching she held confined within. Inwardly wincing, she closed her eyes, feeling herself sway on her unsteady legs, and prayed that her friend wouldn't notice the slip. 

Then Teyla was at her side, her arm sliding around Elizabeth's shoulders, making her tremble. "Are you feeling weak, Dr. Weir?" 

Grateful for the out, Elizabeth nodded her head and opened her eyes. She wanted too much. "Yes, sorry. I must be more hungry than I thought." 

"Then you must eat. This is enough practice for now." Teyla dropped her arm and bowed her head while Elizabeth touched her forehead to Teyla's, ending the session. "Do you wish company?" 

"Yes, I would. Thank you." Elizabeth stretched, folding one arm over the other and pulling slightly, and held it for a fifteen count, before switching arm positions and doing it again, easing the tension slightly. Her shoulders tingled where Teyla's arm had laid against them. "Would you mind stopping by my quarters first? I need to shower and put on a fresh uniform." Her voice was light and friendly, showing nothing of the turmoil she held inside; she congratulated herself on the accomplishment. 

Teyla looked thoughtful, her gaze sunk deep within herself. In an instant, she refocused, searching Elizabeth's face. "Dr. Weir—" she gently laid her hand on Elizabeth's arm, "—a moment." 

"What's on your mind?" Elizabeth tried to ignore the way Teyla's fingers burned against her skin, tried to ignore her rising tension, the odd way Teyla was looking at her. She and Teyla had spent enough time together that she could tell certain moods, but this was one she was unfamiliar with. 

"I have noticed that sometimes you look at me. You seem to want to be close to me, but then you draw away." Teyla's brown eyes were bright and clear, though her brow was furrowed. "You did not tremble from hunger, did you?" 

Elizabeth swallowed. Teyla hadn't missed what was happening after all. "No." 

Teyla was looking at her through half-lidded eyes, in a manner that kindled a fire deep within Elizabeth. "You find my touch...pleasurable?" 

The twist in her voice resonated, and Elizabeth wondered if she hadn't been the only one watching too closely. She was feeling warm now and knew she was flushed; she could feel her excitement grow the longer she looked at Teyla. "Very much." 

"Your touch is pleasurable to me as well," Teyla dropped her hand, but her eyes continued to search Elizabeth's face, "and I would like to share quarters with you for a night." 

Elizabeth blinked. She hadn't expected that. She wasn't sure what she had expected, exactly, but that wasn't it. "Teyla?" 

Teyla leaned in, her breath warm and hot on Elizabeth's neck, spilling around them. "I find you lovely, Dr. Weir—" 

"Elizabeth—" 

"Elizabeth." Teyla smiled, and Elizabeth knew what that half-smile and head-duck meant. "You are beautiful in my eyes." She stroked Elizabeth's face, from her cheekbone to her lips. "And I would like to share my body with you." 

Elizabeth trembled again. As much as she wanted this, part of her resisted. She'd never believed in mixing work with relationships, preferring to keep everything neatly compartmentalized. But Teyla wasn't asking for anything long-term; she was only asking for a single night. Elizabeth's gaze locked with Teyla's. "I—" 

Teyla put her finger to Elizabeth's lips. "Do not think too much about this, Elizabeth. My people long ago learned that the Wraith may come at any time, destroying everything, and we learned to take what we could, when we could." Elizabeth licked her lips as Teyla's hands ran over her back, and her heart raced. "I have watched you set aside everything that came to you, for the good of your people. Do not set this aside as well." 

If Teyla were one of her people, the good decision, the right decision, would be to turn away and go back to her quarters alone. But as Elizabeth had thought earlier, while Teyla did belong to the team, she was still outside of it. Elizabeth would not be compromising her position if she said yes. 

And Elizabeth really wanted to say yes. She covered Teyla's hand with her own and squeezed it tight. "Any night you like, I would be happy to share quarters with you." 

Teyla smiled, not the shy one, half-hidden under her hair, but one as brilliant as the sun-lit sky. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Teyla and sank back against the wall, letting it support her as she cradled Teyla in her arms. Teyla's lips were warm and silken and welcoming, her skin as soft as Elizabeth had imagined, gliding over the hard muscle beneath. 

If Atlantis pressed upon her and confined her, in Teyla she saw freedom. She would not turn away. 


End file.
